Andreas Pereira
Andreas Hugo Hoelgebaum Pereira2 (born 1 January 1996) is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a midfielder for English club Manchester United. Born in Duffel, Belgium, he began his career with nearby Lommel United. At the age of nine, he joined Dutch club PSV Eindhoven before signing for Manchester United in November 2011. He has played international football for the youth teams of both Belgium (the country of his birth) and Brazil (his father's homeland). Pereira made his Premier League appearance in 2015. He later made an appearance in the League Cup against Ipswich Town scoring the second goal of the game. Contents 1 Club career 1.1 Manchester United 2 International career 3 Career statistics 4 Honours 4.1 Club 4.2 International 4.3 Individual 5 References 6 External links Club career Manchester United Early years The son of former Brazilian professional footballer Marcos Pereira,3 Andreas Pereira was born in Duffel, Belgium, while his father was a player there. He began his career with nearby Lommel United,4 one of his father's former clubs, before moving just across the Dutch border to PSV Eindhoven in 2005, when he was nine years old. In 2011, after impressing at the Manchester United Premier Cup,5 he became a target for several big English clubs, including Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, but a visit from Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson in November 2011 convinced Pereira to sign for the Old Trafford club.6 Due to regulations regarding international transfers, the move could not be completed until Pereira's 16th birthday on 1 January 2012, and further complications with international clearance meant that his Manchester United debut was delayed until April 2012. He made his debut for the under-18s in a league match away to Sheffield Wednesday on 25 April 2012, but heavy rain meant the match had to be abandoned as a goalless draw after only 35 minutes.7 He made two more appearances that season as the under-18s finished eighth out of 10 teams in their Premier Academy League group. After signing as an academy scholar in July 2012, Pereira became a regular in the under-18s in the 2012–13 season, making 20 appearances and scoring five goals. He also got his first taste of reserve team football during the season, coming on as a substitute for James Weir in a 3–1 win over Oldham Athletic in the Manchester Senior Cup, followed by another substitute appearance against Liverpool in the semi-finals of the Professional Development League. In recognition of his performances, on 7 January 2013, shortly after his 17th birthday, Pereira received his first professional contract.8 Ahead of the 2013–14 season, Pereira was named as Manchester United's captain for their 2013 Milk Cup campaign, and was named Player of the Tournament for his three goals as Manchester United won the Premier Section.9 He went on to feature heavily for both the under-18s and the under-21s, and was ever present in the inaugural UEFA Youth League; he also scored twice in three appearances in the FA Youth Cup, including a curling, 25-yard effort against Burnley in the third round.10 For the under-21s, he appeared in 17 out of 21 league matches as Manchester United finished third; he then scored the only goal in the semi-final against Liverpool,11 only for the team to lose to Chelsea in the final.12 2014–15 season Pereira began the 2014–15 season with silverware as Manchester United beat Manchester City 4–1 in the final of the Manchester Senior Cup on 7 August 2014.13 He made his senior debut three weeks later, coming on as a half-time substitute for Saidy Janko in a 4–0 away defeat to Milton Keynes Dons in the second round of the League Cup.14 On 15 March 2015, Pereira made his Premier League debut against Tottenham Hotspur, coming on as a 77th-minute substitute for Juan Mata in a 3–0 win for United.15 On 1 May, he signed a new contract with Manchester United until at least June 2018.16 Eighteen days later, Pereira was voted Manchester United's under-21 player of the year for 2014–15.17 2015–16 season On 21 July, Pereira scored his first goal for Manchester United's senior squad in the 3–1 win against the San Jose Earthquakes in the 2015 International Champions Cup, after coming on as a second-half substitute.18 He made his first competitive start for the senior team on 23 September 2015 in the third round of the Capital One Cup. During the match, teammate Juan Mata was brought down and awarded a free kick, which Pereira asked to take. He scored the free kick as the second goal in the eventual 3–0 win over Ipswich Town.19 International career Born in Belgium to a Brazilian father and a mother of German descent, Pereira is eligible to represent either of those two nations at international level. He initially represented Belgium at under-17 and under-18 level,3 but has since stated, "My heart is Brazilian."10 He received his first Brazil call-up in 2014, joining the under-20s on their successful Panda Cup campaign in Asia.9 At the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand, Pereira equalised in the final against Serbia, but Brazil lost 2–1 after extra time.20 Career statistics As of match played 22 February 2016 Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Manchester United 2014–15 Premier League 1 0 0 0 1 0 — 2 0 2015–16 3 0 2 0 2 1 2 0 9 1 Career totals 4 0 2 0 3 1 2 0 11 1 Honours Club Manchester United FA Cup (1): 2015–16 International Brazil U-21FIFA U-20 World Cup: Runner-up 2015 Individual Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year: 2014–15 References 1.Jump up ^ "Barclays Premier League Player Profile Andreas Pereira". Premier League. 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014. 2.Jump up ^ "Player shirt numbers for 20 Barclays Premier League clubs released". premierleague.com (Premier League). 8 August 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2015. 3.^ Jump up to: a b Marshall, Adam (12 March 2014). "Pereira influenced by dad". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 26 August 2014. 4.Jump up ^ "United set to clinch deal for Brazilian-born PSV hot shot Pereira". Mail Online (Associated Newspapers). 7 November 2011. Retrieved 26 August 2014. 5.Jump up ^ Marshall, Adam (25 March 2014). "Pereira making progress". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 26 August 2014. 6.Jump up ^ Murray, Ewan (7 November 2011). "Alex Ferguson seals recruitment of PSV's Andreas Hoelgebaum Pereira". The Guardian (Guardian News and Media). Retrieved 26 August 2014. 7.Jump up ^ Marshall, Adam; Bostock, Adam (25 April 2012). "U18: Sheff Wed A United A". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 26 August 2014. 8.Jump up ^ Marshall, Adam (7 January 2013). "Pereira signs pro deal". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 26 August 2014. 9.^ Jump up to: a b "Andreas Pereira". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 26 August 2014. 10.^ Jump up to: a b "Introducing: Andreas Pereira". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). 20 December 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2014. 11.Jump up ^ Marshall, Adam (2 May 2014). "U21: Liverpool 0 United 1". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 26 August 2014. 12.Jump up ^ Marshall, Adam (14 May 2014). "U21s: United 1 Chelsea 2". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 26 August 2014. 13.Jump up ^ Marshall, Adam (7 August 2014). "MSC: City 1 United Reserves 4". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 26 August 2014. 14.Jump up ^ "MK Dons 4-0 Man Utd". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 26 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014. 15.Jump up ^ "Manchester United 3–0 Tottenham Hotspur". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 15 March 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015. 16.Jump up ^ "Andreas Pereira signs new contract". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). 1 May 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2015. 17.Jump up ^ Froggatt, Mark; Bostock, Adam (19 May 2015). "Pereira wins U21s Player of the Year award". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 20 May 2015. 18.Jump up ^ Thompson, Gemma (21 July 2015). "United 3 Earthquakes 1". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 22 July 2015. 19.Jump up ^ "Man Utd 3-0 Ipswich". BBC Sport. 23 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015. 20.Jump up ^ "Under-20 World Cup: Serbia beat Brazil in Auckland final". BBC Sport. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015. External links Profile at ManUtd.com Belgium profile at Belgian FA Category:Living people Category:People from Duffel Category:Brazilian footballers Category:Belgian footballers Category:Association football midfielders Category:Lommel United players Category:PSV Eindhoven players Category:Manchester United F.C. players Category:Premier League players Category:Belgium youth international footballers Category:Brazil youth international footballers Category:Brazil under-20 international footballers Category:Brazilian people of German descent Category:Belgian people of Brazilian descent Category:Belgian people of German descent Category:Expatriate footballers in England Category:Belgian expatriate footballers Category:Brazilian expatriate footballers Category:Belgian expatriates in England Category:Brazilian expatriates in England